Permanent move from UK to USA. Pension options?

Zeebad

Hi,

I am making a permanent move to the USA later this year. I have contributed to a trustee pension scheme with my company for about 8 years and have a fund in the region of £25k. Initial research suggests that I am neither able to transfer the fund to a US scheme, nor wind it up, pay the tax and take it with me as cash [which would be my preferred option].

Could someone confirm whether there is absoloutely no way to get my money in these circumstances, or what other options I may be able to look at?

Thanks in advance.

Cook_County

What kind of visa will you have in the US?

Will you have excess foreign tax credits to offset?

What age are you?

What nationality are you?

Zeebad

I will be enterng the US on a fiance visa, then applying for permanent residency.

I don't know what excess foreign tax credits means.

Age 35

Nationality British.

Cook_County

The funds will remain invested until your retirement age & then can be used to provide benefits. If you still in the US at that point the income will be taxable.

Some States exempt pension income from tax so you may get some benefit there.

Until the law changed in October 2005 you would have had basis in the pension, but this is no longer the case.

Zeebad

Could you explain what is meant by having basis in the pension please? I'm an engineer and not used to doing financial stuff for myself a great deal

How about moving it to an IRA in the US? Are you saying that I may have been able to do that before Oct '05 but not now?